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Obadiah
Easy-to-Read Version
Obadiah
Easy-to-Read Version
Edom Will Be Punished
1 This is the vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord God says about Edom:
We heard a report from the Lord.
A messenger was sent to the nations.
He said, “Let’s go fight against Edom.”
The Lord Speaks to Edom
2 “Edom, I will make you the smallest nation.
Everyone will hate you very much.
3 Your pride has fooled you.
You live in those caves high on the cliff.
Your home is high in the hills.
So you say to yourself,
‘No one can bring me to the ground.’”
Edom Will Be Brought Low
4 This is what the Lord says:
“Even though you fly high like the eagle
and put your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there.
5 You really will be ruined!
Thieves will come to you.
Robbers will come in the night,
and they will take all they want.
When workers gather grapes in your vineyards,
they will leave a few grapes behind.
6 But the enemy will search hard for Esau’s hidden treasures,
and they will find them all.
7 All those who are your friends
will force you out of the land.
Those who were at peace with you will trick you,
and they will defeat you.
The soldiers who fought by your side
are planning a trap for you.
They say, ‘He doesn’t expect a thing!’”
8 The Lord says, “On that day
I will destroy the wise people from Edom.
I will destroy the intelligent people from the mountain of Esau.[a]
9 Teman, your brave soldiers will be afraid.
Everyone will be destroyed from the mountain of Esau.
Many people will be killed.
10 You will be covered with shame
because you were very cruel to your brother Jacob.
So you will be destroyed completely.
11 You joined the enemies of Israel.
Strangers carried Israel’s treasures away.
Foreigners entered Israel’s city gate.
They threw lots to decide what part of Jerusalem they would get.
And you were right there with them, waiting to get your share.
12 You should not have laughed[b]
at your brother’s trouble.
You should not have been happy
when they destroyed Judah.
You should not have bragged[c]
at the time of their trouble.
13 You should not have entered the city gate of my people
and laughed at their problems.
You should not have taken their treasures
in the time of their trouble.
14 You should not have stood where the roads cross
and destroyed those who were trying to escape.
You should not have captured those who escaped alive.
15 The Day of the Lord is coming soon
to all the nations.
And the evil you did to others will happen to you.
The same bad things will fall down on your own head.
16 You spilled[d] blood on my holy mountain,[e]
so other nations will spill your blood.[f]
You will be finished.
It will be as if you never existed.
17 But there will be survivors on Mount Zion.
They will be my special people.
The nation of Jacob[g] will take back
what belongs to it.
18 The family of Jacob will be like a fire.
The nation of Joseph will be like a flame.
But the nation of Esau[h] will be like ashes.
The people of Judah will burn Edom,
and they will destroy it.
Then there will be no survivors in the nation of Esau.”
This will happen because the Lord said it would.
19 Then people from the Negev will live on the mountain of Esau.
And people from the foothills will take the Philistine lands.
They will live in the land of Ephraim and Samaria.
Gilead will belong to Benjamin.
20 People from Israel were forced to leave their homes,
but they will take back the land of Canaan, all the way to Zarephath.
People from Judah were forced to leave Jerusalem and live in Sepharad.[i]
But they will take back the cities of the Negev.
21 The winners[j] will go up on Mount Zion
to rule the people who live on Esau’s mountain.
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:8 mountain of Esau That is, Mount Seir.
- Obadiah 1:12 laughed Literally, “looked.” Also in verse 13.
- Obadiah 1:12 bragged Literally, “made your mouth big.”
- Obadiah 1:16 spilled Literally, “drank.”
- Obadiah 1:16 holy mountain One of the mountains Jerusalem was built on. Sometimes Zion is used to mean Jerusalem itself. Also in verses 17, 21.
- Obadiah 1:16 spill your blood Literally, “drink and swallow.”
- Obadiah 1:17 nation of Jacob Literally, “the house of Jacob.” This could mean the people of Israel or only its leaders.
- Obadiah 1:18 nation of Esau Literally, “the house of Esau.”
- Obadiah 1:20 Sepharad This is probably Spain.
- Obadiah 1:21 winners Or “saviors.” Those who led their people to victory in war.
Obadiah
New International Version
Obadiah
New International Version
Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)
1 The vision(C) of Obadiah.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom(D)—
We have heard a message from the Lord:
An envoy(E) was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”(F)—
2 “See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
you will be utterly despised.
3 The pride(H) of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a](I)
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’(J)
4 Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest(K) among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,”(L)
declares the Lord.(M)
5 “If thieves came to you,
if robbers in the night—
oh, what a disaster awaits you!—
would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave a few grapes?(N)
6 But how Esau will be ransacked,
his hidden treasures pillaged!
7 All your allies(O) will force you to the border;
your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread(P) will set a trap for you,[b]
but you will not detect it.
8 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
9 Your warriors, Teman,(R) will be terrified,
and everyone in Esau’s mountains
will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence(S) against your brother Jacob,(T)
you will be covered with shame;
you will be destroyed forever.(U)
11 On the day you stood aloof
while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots(V) for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.(W)
12 You should not gloat(X) over your brother
in the day of his misfortune,(Y)
nor rejoice(Z) over the people of Judah
in the day of their destruction,(AA)
nor boast(AB) so much
in the day of their trouble.(AC)
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity(AD)
in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads
to cut down their fugitives,(AE)
nor hand over their survivors
in the day of their trouble.
15 “The day of the Lord is near(AF)
for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds(AG) will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank(AH) on my holy hill,(AI)
so all the nations will drink(AJ) continually;
they will drink and drink
and be as if they had never been.(AK)
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;(AL)
it will be holy,(AM)
and Jacob will possess his inheritance.(AN)
18 Jacob will be a fire
and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
and they will set him on fire(AO) and destroy(AP) him.
There will be no survivors(AQ)
from Esau.”
The Lord has spoken.
19 People from the Negev will occupy
the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills will possess
the land of the Philistines.(AR)
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,(AS)
and Benjamin(AT) will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
will possess the land as far as Zarephath;(AU)
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the towns of the Negev.(AV)
21 Deliverers(AW) will go up on[c] Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.(AX)
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
- Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Obadiah 1:21 Or from
Obadiah
King James Version
Obadiah
King James Version
1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.
5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
8 Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it.
19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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